Chapter 12: Half-Life

When April opened her eyes again, she could see nothing but darkness. There was a sickening sensation in the bowels of her stomach, the kind one gets when falling from a great distance. However, April could not tell whether she was falling or floating, as there seemed to be nothing below her that would break the plunge.

What's happening to me...? I remember...blood... she thought.

And that seemed to be the only thing she recalled.

"Where am I...?" she asked aloud, her eyes darting about in the dark.

"This is Limbo," a voice said casually from behind her.

April jumped and slowly turned around. "...Limbo...?"

A tall, sinister figure hovered over her, cloaked in a familiar obsidian robe. His smile was both bright and disturbing, his sharp luminescent teeth glistening like an ominous beacon in the night. His blazing eyes were gazing intently at April, checking her over.

"You are not completely dead, are you?" he sighed.

"I'm dead...?" she asked, confused.

He shook his head. "No, not entirely. You're only half dead...What a mess, what a mess..."

"...Who are you?" April struggled to get to her feet. Walking when one feels no solid surface beneath them is not an easily managed task, but in her desperation for answers, she managed quite well.

The hooded figure spun around to face her once more, the fiery eyes flaring in irritation at her question. "Need you ask that, stupid mortal? I am Death. Could you not tell?"

"...Then I am dreaming," she murmured.

"You would like to think that, but no," Death hissed. "It seems that thing only shoved your spirit far enough out of your body to force you out of control of it. You are not entirely there anymore, and yet you are not entirely here. Look at your body, girl!"

April's eyes dropped to her hands. True to Death's words, they were translucent. She looked like a ghost.

"But...How is it possible...? There is no life after death, is there? Right?"

"Stupid woman." Death rolled his eyes. "Of course there is a life after death. Your friend Johnny told you about that, didn't he?"

"...So that wasn't a demented dream...? It wasn't his sickness making him see things...?" April was holding back her terror, mortified by this new information.

"Yes, yes, the puking angel, people's heads exploding, Satan taking the form of a ditzy cheerleader-It's all true," Death scowled.

"But...Then why did he never mention you?" she asked.

"I am merely the transporter," he muttered. "When people die, their souls drift here. During their time in Limbo, they sleep, so they do not remember my presence. I take them to their predetermined destination, be it Heaven or Hell, and leave them there to be welcomed. They usually do not awaken until I have left them behind."

"So why I am I awake now?"

"Because, you are not entirely DEAD, idiot. Were you not listening? Your soul has only been pushed HALFWAY from your body. You are still there, and yet you are not." Death was outraged. "That bastard...The creature you so foolishly harbored...The one called IT-He has seized control of your body. I can't fathom why he would want to bother with such a troublesome shell other than the fact that he has a goal that requires him to be a tangible, visible being. My guess would be that it has something to do with the Johnny boy."

"Nny...?" April gasped. "Why would IT-" she cut herself short, realizing that what she was about to ask was a rather stupid question.

"It's that boy's fault that IT was nearly killed all those years ago," Death said. "Chances are, IT wishes to repay the deed."

"Then I have to stop him!" April cried. "Can't you send the rest of me back to my body?"

"It isn't that simple. If you had been pushed out of your body completely, I would have more to work with. But, being only half dead, your soul is under a lot of stress right now. If I moved you too rashly, you could shatter into oblivion. I don't suppose you would like that, would you?"

"...Not particularly."

"An expected response."

Death sailed past April and motioned for her to follow him. "Well come along, then. Let's find a way to push the rest of you back into that body. It actually would most likely be easier to extract the rest of you, then replant you back into your shell."

"So...you mean to kill me entirely, then?" she asked.

"Yes and no. Of course I will have to put you back, so you'll only be dead for a short while."

"...You're really going to do that for me? But isn't it your job to claim souls...?"

"Haven't you ever heard of occasions when people are sent back from the dead? That is because, for whatever reason, it was not their time to die. I cannot claim a soul that has not yet filled out its earthly time, and therefore, I must return those souls to where they belong. But don't worry, they all come back to me in time." There was a twisted humor integrated into Death's voice as he spoke.

"So that's why Nny was sent back...?"

"Precisely."

"And me?"

"You have time left yourself, as I have already stated. Do you have some kind of hearing problem?"

April glared at Death, annoyed with his brash attitude. "...Anyway, if you plan on taking my entire soul from my body, then what will happen if you can't put it back?"

"I've never had such a problem before. I'll admit, in most possessions, this sort of thing does not typically happen," Death admitted. "However, this creature we're dealing with is something different altogether from your everyday demon. It's much more powerful."

"You didn't really answer my question." She folded her arms, looking annoyed. "What will happen if you can't put me back in my body?"

"...Well, I suppose you'll just have to float around here in Limbo until the higher-ups decide what to do with you. Your life hasn't been fulfilled, so it would be unfair to send you to Heaven or Hell right now. Of course, I'm certain that won't stop Senor Satan from trying to get his bony little claws on you."

"...Senor Satan?" April cocked an eyebrow at Death, skeptical of the title.

"I'm sure you've heard of him. He goes by many titles, but that one is his favorite. You know, Baal, Beelzebub, the Devil?"

"I'm not an idiot. I know who you're talking about." She rolled her eyes.

"I digress," Death said, waving a bony hand dismissively. "Now, then, back to the matter at hand..."

"Getting me back into my body," April stated.

"Yes, yes..."

"Got any ideas?"

"At the moment, not quite. But I am thinking."

Death was pacing in thought. "It IS a delicate matter...You humans have the most fragile souls, after all. One little mistake and you could be lost to oblivion."

"Ah. No pressure." April seated herself on the ground (actually, she just wound up floating where she tried to settle). "Meanwhile that FREAK is running about in the real world with MY body, doing God knows what with only God knows who."

"Would you please stop saying that?" Death snapped. "If you only knew how little attention God paid to anything that isn't covered in some sort of chocolate or cheese coating or embellished with cushioning on which he can nap."

The redhead groaned quietly and allowed herself to fall onto her back. It's going to be a long night, isn't it?

"Where IS the little darling anyway, Mr. C.?" Senor Satan spoke up after a moment.

Johnny stiffened a little. "...She left home to collect blood for IT."

"And you just LET her?"

"The fuck was I supposed to do?"

"Oh, never mind!" Satan scowled at him. "...I believe our first move would be finding the girl. I think I might be in the process of creating a plan, however insane it may be..."

"You are...?" Xin's face lit up. "Let's hear it, let's hear it!"

"Please calm yourself, I cannot even hear my own internal voice with the incessant racket." The Devil massaged his temples, as though Xin's outburst had literally caused him a headache. "If we can find the girl and keep her away from the creature, we may be able to take it on...Of course, any sort of action against IT is going to require a means of sealing it up."

Satan turned to Todd and Shmee. "That is where the two of you will come in. Your friend here has a special knack for hoarding up nasty things, I hear."

Todd's face paled. "...You mean...put IT inside of Shmee...? But...!"

"Little boy, do you want the world to come to an end or don't you?"

"Of course not! But...Shmee is my friend..."

"And don't I get a say in this?" Shmee growled. "You're not sticking that putrid living shit inside of ME, no sir!"

Johnny jumped to his feet then and stormed across the room. He snatched the bear from Todd and pinned it to the wall. "LISTEN, you shit-for-brains hunk of cotton waste, if you're the only shot we have at fixing this, then you'll do it and be damn happy for the opportunity! Mary's life depends on whether or not you participate in this little shenanigan, so you're going to do it or I'll carve out your stuffing piece by piece and SET IT ON FIRE."

The two squared off, glaring at one another (which, if not for the current circumstances, would have looked quite funny since one of them was a grown man and the other a child's plaything), until Senor Satan intervened once again.

"That is more than enough," the Devil sighed, pushing them apart. "You, my short-stuffed friend, have no choice in this, I'm afraid." He glanced down at Shmee. "You'll understand if I don't find your plight at all disheartening. The Earth is MY kingdom, and I shall see to it that it remains such. If I can use you, then I shall, and that is the end of that."

"Oh, come off it, you just think you're so high and mighty because you're the big bad Devil," the bear snarled.

"Do you think that spouting off to me is going to earn you my respect?" Satan reached down and snatched Shmee up, his bony hand clutching the toy's throat. "I AM this world's god, little wretch. None can defy me, save for that obese hunk of so called 'divinity' that lurks in the upper world. If I say you will help me, then you will do it and you will do it without complaint. Otherwise I'll let Mr. C. have at you and give your spirit to the hellspawn in the afterlife to chew upon! Have I made myself clear?"

Shmee just made a wheezing noise as a response, which the Devil took as an agreement and allowed the former to drop to the floor.

"Now then," he sighed, as if he had just eliminated a serious problem, "to find the woman. You said she left to find food for the abomination?" He looked to Johnny, who nodded.

"She ought to be back home soon, if she isn't already," Johnny said.

"Excellent. We'll head to her residence, then, and you and the little girl will greet her. You'll have to get her outside and well out of the creature's range. Pepito and I will step in with the bear and seal IT."

Satan headed to the door with his resolve, taking upon a human form to avoid looking so obviously conspicious. The others hesitantly followed after him.

Xin walked at Johnny's side, her gaze following her feet as they trudged along. "April's okay, right, Nny?" she asked softly.

"..." He sighed quietly. "Sure, kid. She's probably fine..."

"Do you mean that? Or are you saying it so I'll be quiet?"

"...I don't even know anymore."

They spent the remainder of the journey in silence until they reached the apartment complex in which April lived.

"You two first," Satan directed to Johnny and Xin. "Remember the plan. Get the girl out and far away from IT."

Johnny nodded, then took Xin by the arm and headed up to April's apartment.

To their surprise, the door was unlocked, suggesting that April was already home. Johnny looked to Xin, using facial expressions to instruct her to remain quiet and to stay close to him.

The girl nodded and did as she was told, following Johnny into the apartment.

All was silent as they entered. The air was crisp and somehow bitterly cold, despite the fair weather outside.

"..." Johnny pushed Xin further behind him, instantly sensing something was wrong. "Stay here," he whispered to her before advancing further inside.

Xin opened her mouth to protest, only to close it again upon Johnny giving her a deathly glare that demanded her obedience. She sighed and hung her head in defeat.

Johnny ventured to the bedroom and pushed open the door cautiously.

"-SHIT!" he cried out in surprise when he saw something move from the corner of the room.

The dark figure stepped out of the shadows, revealing itself to be April. She was covered from head to foot in blood (quite literally), making it difficult to make out where the bloodstains ended and her matching hair began on her body. Her blouse was ripped wide open, exposing a large, hideous scar on her chest. More blood was pooled at her feet, trailing all the way back to the closet where IT had been residing.

"Mary...?" Johnny murmured, eying her form warily.

A twisted smile curled up the corners of April's lips, revealing a set of bloodied teeth. "Hello, Johnny," she said, her voice raspy and cracked as though it hadn't been used for ages. "Where have you been? I was so worried..."

"Christ, Mary, what the hell happened to you?" he demanded, his wide eyes looking her up and down. "You look like fucking Carrie!"

"Oh, you know...I guess I took too long to feed IT," she said with a shrug. "But I have been wondering where you disappeared to, Nny..."

Her arms reached out to him, beckoning that he embrace her. "Come on, Nny. Aren't you going to let me welcome you home? I've missed you so much, after all."

"..." Johnny raised a curious eyebrow at her, staring her straight in the eyes, before slowly making his way toward her.

He didn't see as her smiled widened as he allowed her to fold her arms around him. He didn't notice her nails growing, sharpening as they embraced.

If only he could hear IT's maniacal laughter from within April's body...